


Meeting Again For the First Time

by Codydarkstalker



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Youtube RPF, jack septiceye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - TiMER, Light BDSM, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 21:13:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4580343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codydarkstalker/pseuds/Codydarkstalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sean is going to Pax! It will be his first con and his first time in America, and more importantly his first time meeting Mark and his other Youtube friends. Who can blame him for forgetting some little details during his trip. Like the fact his TiMER is due to count down while he's away?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sean’s TiMER was installed when he was 14, like most kids he knew. It immediately began counting down. He wouldn’t be meeting his soulmate until he was in his mid twenties. That was fine with him. He had fun in highschool, he joined a band and played videogames and got good enough grades for his parents to mostly leave him alone. He went to college, which wasn’t great, and met a girl online, which was. They both knew that what they had wouldn’t be forever, but they enjoyed their time together anyway. He learned some Korean, even went to visit once, and played more videogames. 

Stuck out in the country with little to do he spent more and more time on the computer. That was how he found out about let’s players, people on youtube who posted videos of themselves playing games. It seemed a bit silly at first, but it was a nice enough way to pass time, watching people play games and tell jokes. After a few months he bought a nice webcam and started a channel of his own.

It was fun, being a Youtuber. He wasn’t famous, far from it, but he was making friends and keeping himself busy, and that was something. He started following more and more people. Some of them held his attention more than others.   
Pewdiepie with his handsome voice and silky blond hair and over the top acting, and Markiplier who was just as handsome and amazingly fun to watch.

A few months later and he found himself in the odd position of almost being Mark. Pewdiepie featuring him had ballooned his subscriber count and suddenly he was getting more attention than he could handle, and people like Mark were chatting with him and asking to do collaborative videos. Those were some of the best times of his life. He had more fans than he could count and he got to do something he enjoyed every day. He was able to move away from his family and into an apartment, and soon he would be going to America for the first time. It was almost too much to process. He didn’t notice his TiMER was low until the night before the flight. He was going to time out in America. 

His flight to PAX was long and mostly uneventful. He had spent most of trying to do anything but stare at his own wrist, watching the time slip away. He had forgotten the time difference, and it seemed like the thing wouldn’t actually hit zero till well after he landed. Getting off the plane and checked into his hotel was chaos though, and soon enough his TiMER was the farthest thing from his mind. He was jetlagged and already a bit buzzed from the drinks he had on the plane, and his hotel room wasn’t ready. He pulled out his phone and saw he already had a few messages from Mark, Bob and Wade, who had asked him to have dinner with him that night so they could meet each other in person before the convention the next day. 

-Hey! What Hotel are you in? --Markimoo

-I’m in the Mariot, you know that one? --Jackaboy

-I might know it… I’m in it!! --Markimoo

Sean grinned and hit the call button. “Hey! Mark, you at the hotel? There’s some issue with my room so I’m down in the lobby. Maybe I can dump my bags in your room so we can head out to dinner?”

“Yeah man, sounds good. I’m on the third floor, room 313, just come up.” 

“Ok, be right there.” Sean grabbed his bags and found the elevator, making sure he pressed the right floor. “Damned American floor numbers…” he muttered under his breath.

The hotel was large, much larger than any he had been in before, and the halls were pretty crowded, so it took him a bit before he found his way to Mark’s room. By then he was feeling dead on his feet, and his bags were weighing him down so much he thought his arms would fall off. 

However, any thoughts of tiredness, of anything at all, completely stopped when the door opened.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP

Sean winced when he heard his bag hitting the floor, thinking of the delicate electronics inside.

Mark’s eye went wide as he looked down at left arm, his wrist covered by the sleeve of his lucky flannel.

“Is that…?” Sean blinked a few times, trying to make his brain engage. “Is that a TiMER?”

Mark nodded and rolled up his sleeve slowly, showing Sean the blinking panel embedded into his wrist. 

“Oh.” For what may have been the first time in his life, Sean didn’t have anything to say. 

“Hey Mark, Sean! You guys are in this hotel too?” 

Both of them turned to see Bob and Wade coming down the hall. Neither of them had pressed the button on their TiMERS to stop the sound, and as the other two men approached, their faces changed, the smiles melting away into confusion.

“Uh, Mark?” Wade stopped a few feet away. “Is that your TiMER?”

Mark blushed. “Yeah…” He quickly pressed the button on his wrist, silencing the beep, and Sean did the same.

Bob looked between the men and cleared his throat loudly, grabbing Wade by the arm. “Well! We will see you too at the restaurant downstairs in an hour ok? We have a reservation. Wade and I are going to go for a drink.” He elbowed Wade in the side, prompting the other man to stammer out a quick response.

“Uh, y-yeah. Dinner. Later. See you guys!” 

Sean sighed as the men practically ran down the hall. It wasn’t really the first impression he had hoped for.

“Maybe, maybe you should come inside.” Mark pulled the door open wider and motioned for Sean to follow him into the room.

Mark had managed to get a better room than Sean had because he had booked early. He had a full suite with a kitchen and a nice view of the city out the window. Sean could even make out the convention hall in the distance. 

Mark gestured for him to sit. “So, I guess we should talk about...this.” He held up his arm, pulling the sleeve back again to reveal the now blank TiMER. He glanced at it. “You know, I don’t think I ever asked how long you had on yours.”

Sean shrugged, looking down at his own wrist. The blank TiMER was a little disconcerting to see. He could barely remember what his arm looked like without the little plastic bar and the flashing countdown numbers. “I guess most people find it kind of rude to ask about, right?” He laughed suddenly. “In my early videos I used to let it show, and then Felix told me I should cover mine up, like you and him do, so fans wouldn’t be tracking my countdown. After a while, I stopped thinking about it myself.”

Mark let out a small laugh and for a moment Sean couldn’t help but think that maybe things would be ok. Mark was a great guy. A guy, but that was ok, Sean had never been too picky on that point, and he liked video games and Youtube and silly jokes. And Mark WAS good looking, he had to admit. In person he a bit shorter than Sean had thought, actually the same height as Sean himself, but he was solidly built under this blue flannel shirt, and his eyes were bright behind his glasses.   
Sean shifted in his seat, suddenly very aware of his scruffy face and rumpled clothes from his long flight. He probably smelled like airplane, not the way he would have wanted to meet his soulmate. He tugged self consciously at his oversized hoody, wishing he had thought to wear something nicer to travel in.

Mark looked around the room, pointedly not making eye contact with Sean. “You know, after all this…” He gestured vaguely at his wrist with his other hand. “Maybe you should just stay in this room. I mean,” he shot a quick look at Sean, one eyebrow slightly raised. “Would that be okay with you?”

Sean nodded hurriedly, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that sounds good.” He ran a hand through his hair and let out a small laugh. “no sense in playing coy about the whole thing, huh.”

Mark nodded and left the room to call Wade and Bob and let them know they would be ready to go eat soon. Sean watched him leave with a strange feeling twisting up in his stomach. This wasn’t how the TiMER was supposed to work, was it? he knew Mark. They talk at least once a week, they skyped and texted and played games together. This wasn’t really their first meeting, why did the TiMER have to wait so long to let them know? Most people were able to meet their soulmate with a clean slate, now he wasn’t sure what he supposed to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner was a somewhat strained affair. To his credit, Bob did from any sort of awkward questions, but it was clear that Wade was dying to know what was going on. Sean couldn’t really blame him. He knew that Bob and Wade were as close to mark as his brother Tom was, maybe even more. Mark, for his part, was being uncharacteristically quiet, nursing beer after beer. His face was flushed and his eyes looked a bit glazed over.

“So, Jack…” Bob turned his attention to him, a desperate smile on his face. “It’s...really great to meet you in person for the first time! Right guys?” He looked over at Mark and Wade.

Mark looked up from his drink. “Yeah. Meeting in person is pretty different.” His cheeks were a bright pink and Sean suddenly remembered the other man once telling him he had trouble processing alcohol.

Wade grimaced. “Well, hey. Tomorrow is the first day of the con! That’s cool right!” He smiled, thinking he had found an easy topic.

“Yeah, we have a panel, and there’s gonna be a booth to do signings,” Bob added. “It’s gonna be a busy few days for you Jack, you heading home right after?”

Sean shrugged and poked at his food a bit. “I’m not too sure.” He glanced over at Mark to gauge the other man’s reaction. The original plan was for him to leave as soon as the convention was over. But maybe he would be better off extending his trip? It was a lot to process all at once. “I got my ticket using credit card points, so I guess switching it to standby on another date wouldn’t be too hard. Maybe I should-” His words are cut off by a loud sound. 

Mark had slammed his beer down on the table and stood up suddenly, knocking his chair over in the process. “I’m going back up to the room,” he announced. “I have to…” He trailed off, looking around as though only now realizing he was standing. “I have to go.” He pulled a hand through his hair and took a woobly step away from the table. 

Wade managed to jump up and grab him before he walked straight into a waitress, and stopped him from going any further. “Uh, Mark? Maybe you should let Jack take you up to the room hmm? Maybe get some sleep before the big day tomorrow?” He smiled hopefully at Sean, willing the smaller man to please please please take his drunk friend upstairs before they caused a scene.

Mark made a disgruntled noise but allowed Sean to take him by the arm and steer him out of the restaurant and towards the elevators. Mark was leaning heavily on him and Jack was suddenly aware of how heavy the other man was. 

The elevator was mercifully empty and Sean was able to prop Mark against the wall for a bit. He turned his neck and rolled his shoulders, feeling them crack. He was more used to being the drunk friend than being the minder. Sean turned and looked at Mark, who had his head down and was mumbling under his breath.   
“Wassat then?”

Mark looked up and blinked owlishly, still clearly out of it. “It just doesn’t seem right, you know?” He rubbed at his wrist absently, tracing the edge of the TiMER. “Like, we spent all that time fake flirting and now…”

Sean smiled wryly. “Yeah well, I guess we can call it practice right?”

Mark opened his mouth to reply but was caught off by the doors opening. He pushed past Sean and walked down the hall, seeming a bit steadier on his feet, although he was weaving back a forth a bit as he moved, zigzagging across the carpet. When he got to the door he shoved his hands into his pockets, searching for the keycard. When Sean approached, offering to help, he waved him off “I got it I got it.” He managed to open the door on his third try and tumbled into the dark room, making a beeline for the bedroom.

Sean hesitated for a moment and then followed him. The bedroom was nice, large with a view of the city, and the bed was a king size with a soft looking white duvet and a heaping pile of pillows that made it look like a cloud. As soon as he saw it Sean felt the sudden crushing exhaustion in his body. The shock of his TiMER had given him a shot of adrenaline, but the jet lag was catching up and he felt dead on his feet now. 

Mark was laying on the bed, legs in the air, clawing at his sneakers, trying and failing to get the laces of his shoes undone. After a moment he flopped back and closed his eyes, apparently done fighting with them.

Sean sighed and moved over to the bed, reaching over and taking Mark’s feet into his hands and removing his shoes and socks. He hesitated a moment when he was done, unsure if he should go any further. After a moment's consideration he started on Mark’s belt, attempting to undo it without looking directly.

Mark watched him through half lidded eyes and chuckled. “You’re trying to get me naked.” He rolled away from Sean and sat up, starting to pull his top off over his head, knocking his glasses to the floor in the process. After a minute or so he managed to wiggle out of his jeans as well, leaving him in just his tight red boxer briefs. He flopped back onto the bed again, throwing his arms and legs open wide in a welcoming gesture. “Here you go Jackaboy, you got me in bed and almost naked!” he propped himself up on an elbow and leered at the younger man. “Just what you wanted right? I mean, you were a fan of mine for years right? You must have thought about this right? Well, here you go, you won.”

Sean felt his face go red. It was true he had been a fan of ark’s for years, and it was also true that once or twice his mind had strayed to some less than pure places when thinking about the other gamer. But this, the business with his TiMER, that was something he hadn’t expected, and for Mark to eb holding him responsible in some way, treating him like some over enthusiastic fanboy, that was too much for him. 

“Ya know Mark, you’re being an ass, I didn’t ask for this you know.” He kicked off his shoes angrily. “I didn’t make the damn TiMER, I didn’t plan on it going off when I got here, I didn’t even plan on staying in the same hotel as you!” He threw his hat on the floor and pulled his hoodie over his head, suddenly feeling warm from the mix of anger and alcohol. “I certainly didn’t ask for some half assed celebrity youtuber boyfriend.”

Mark sat up at that and looked at him seriously. “I know Jack. I know.” He sighed and rolled over on the bed, patting the space beside him. “Maybe it will make more sense in the morning.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sean woke up alone in bed. There was sunlight coming through the window and he could hear the shower running. He rolled over and stretched, grimacing when he caught sight of the alarm clock on the table next to the bed. It was still early, only 6am, but they had to be at the convention center by 7 so they could get to their booth and set up before people were let in. He sat up and yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

“The shower is free.”

Sean turned to see Mark standing near the foot of the bed, hair dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel slung low around his waist. Sean felt his face heat up as he quickly looked away. 

 

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” He practically ran to the bathroom, eyes locked on the carpet. He missed the small grin on Mark’s face as he passed him.

The shower helped Sean wake up, and by the time he was out Mark was, mercifully dressed. He put his own clothes on in the bathroom, yanking his tee shirt on over his still damp skin and towel drying his hair. 

Mark was sitting on the bed when he got out, looking at something on his phone. He glanced up when Sean came out and they held each other's gaze for a long moment. Mark looked away first.

Bob and Wade and the rest of their friends were waiting in the lobby downstairs, all wearing the same awkward smile. Bob was holding a cardboard tray of coffee cups and Wade was holding a big bag from Dunkin Donuts.

Bob held out two cups of coffee in styrofoam cups. “Thought you guys might need these after last night.” 

Sean smiled and grabbed a cup, taking a few of the sugar packets Wade was holding out. “Thanks, I needed this.”

Wade held the bag out to him. “Want a donut? I know you like sugary stuff.”

Sean nodded and reached in, grabbing a pastry at random. It was sweet of Bob and Wade to be trying so hard to act like things were normal, business as usual. But it also made him even more aware of how awkward things were. Behind him, Mark was silently nursing a cup of coffee, his eyes shadowed behind his glasses. It was almost impossible to think they could just move on.

The walk to the convention center was blessedly short, but a bit tense. Mark refused to speak to anyone, opting instead to just drink his coffee and stare at his own feet while he walked. Bob and Wade tried to fill the silence with chatter about what panels they were most excited for, but after a while even they gave up on lightening the mood.

Sean fished in his pocket for his phone and pulled up the app for the convention schedule. Their own panel didn’t start for hours, but they were all supposed to be at the same booth together until then. He glanced at Mark again, he was still staring holes in the sidewalk, but he seemed to have finished his coffee, and was now tearing the cup into little pieces. He didn’t look like he was in any shape to put on a happy face for the fans.

It was hard to imagine things ever being normal again. Sean resisted the urge to glance down at wrist, his now blank TiMER. In so many ways, his soulmate was exactly what he had always hoped for, smart, funny, someone who shared his interests. Hell, Mark was even Asian (sort of) which was kind of a bonus. But he knew that Mark had been hoping for something different. In all the time they had known each other, Mark had never talked about his future soulmate and what he thought they might be like, but Sean was fairly sure some mouthy little Irishman was as far away from ideal as possible.

As they approached the convention center it became clear that a lot of people had shown up early. The main entrance to the building was blocked by a sea of people held back with little velvet ropes. There must have been hundreds of them waiting, and the doors weren’t due to open for at least another hour, and the panels and dealers rooms weren’t open until even later.

Sean watched in amazement as Mark seemed to transform in front of him. Suddenly the other man was standing straighter, and the shadows under his eyes seemed less prominent. He pulled a hand through his hair, fluffing it a bit, and put on a wide grin.

“Hey guys! It’s great to see you!” Mark bounced on the balls of his feet and waved at the crowd, eliciting a few screams of excitement. He bounded over, suddenly seeming full of energy, and high fived a few people that were yelling to him, running up and down the line, pausing here and there to sign convention programs and take pictures with fans.

Sean stared, dumbfounded.

“He’s good right?”

Sean turned to see Wade next to him, smiling wanly. “Uh, yeah. I mean, he looked like death just a minute ago.” He gestured towards Mark, who was now jumping up and down with a group of fnas while someone recorded them with a cameraphone. 

Wade nodded. “He’s been like this as long as I’ve known him. Everything he does, it’s to make other people happy. It sounds cheesy as hell but that’s the truth. This is what he lives for.”

Sean felt his stomach churn. Mark loved to make people happy, to make his fans happy. And here he was, wrecking all that, ruining the weekend for Mark and making his life harder when all he wanted was to do his best for his subscribers. 

Wade grabbed him by the shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Hey. Don’t look so down. Mark may be in a weird place right now, but he’s gonna get over it eventually.” He grinned down at Sean. “I’ve known him longer than anyone. He’s not the kinda guy who could live with himself if he made his soulmate unhappy.”

Sean didn’t have a chance to respond, Bob was signaling to the group, directing them towards a smaller entrance around the side of the building. 

“Come on boys! It’s showtime!”


	4. Chapter 4

“Ok everyone! Smile and say ‘LIKE A BOSS!’” Sean grinned wide, leaning across the table to pose with a group of fans, silently thanking whatever god might be listening that so many people had shown up early to see him. The booth was big enough for everyone, so Bob and Wade had taken the middle spots, letting Mark and Sean sit at opposite ends of the table.

Every once in a while Sean would glance over at Mark to see how he was holding up. Oddly, he seemed to be doing better than anyone. He was on his third cup of coffee, but he was smiling wide and his eyes were bright and clear. He had been chatting and laughing with every fan that came up, and he had an increasingly large pile of gifts growing behind his chair as more and more people came to bring tribute. He hadn’t looked at Sean’s end of the table once.

Sean did his best to put it out of his mind and focus on the ever growing line of fans in front of him. It was a bit shocking to see how many were there. he had even gotten a few gifts himself, mostly tiny plush version of Sam. The next person in line is an attractive young man with glasses and shaggy black hair. He’s smiling so big it looks like he might split his face in half, and he’s carefully cradling something green in his arms.

"It’s a Sam hat!” The man explained excitedly, thrusting it into Sean’s hands. The hat is a black knit cap, obviously home made, with a green eye in the front center and bright green pom pom on the top. "I knit myself. I know it's a bit silly, but you're my favorite person and I just really wanted to make something special for you." 

Sean pulled his normal cap off and shoved it in his bag, pulling the new hat on over his messy bed head hair. “This is great! Thanks!” He leaned across the table so he could get a picture with the man, who was now blushing furiously. “I’m gonna put this one on my Twitter if that’s ok?”

“Yeah! That’s great!” The man pulled a pen and a crumpled receipt from his pocket. “Here’s my username so you can tag me.”

By the time Sean was done posting and tagging the picture on his various social media accounts the fan was gone. When he looked up again, Wade was giving him and odd, penetrating look.

“What?”

Wade rolled his eyes and gestured to the other end of the table. Mark was getting up from his seat, red faced and no longer smiling. “I think Mark saw that guy flirting with you."

"Flirting?" Sean grimaced. "I don't think anyone was flirting."

Wade shrugged in response. "If you say so."

Sean felt his face go hot. There was no way the guy had been flirting. And even if he was, so what? Mark certainly had enough fans flirting with him. Before he could think of something to say another fan approached the table with something for him to sign.

It kept up like that for a few hours. Mark returned to his spot at the end of the table without a word about his brief absence, still not looking at Jack. They might have made it through the day like that if it hadn't been for the panel. 

The panel was supposed to be Mark, Bob, Wade and Jack. It would be a bit of them playing some silly game, and then a question and answer segment followed by a meet and greet with the fans. The expectation was for everyone to be smiling and happy and fun. Mark was doing a good enough job faking it now, but the panel was going to be more of a challenge. His normal attitude of fake flirtation with Jack was probably going to hit a bit too close to home. 

Bob was the brave soul who brought it up. They had closed up the booth to break for lunch and were crushed into a booth at a diner a few blocks from the convention center. As soon as they had left the building Mark had lapsed back into sullen silence. He had ordered a big plate of disco fries but was mostly just rearranging them on the plate. 

"So when we get back we have an hour before the panel," said Bob, mouth half filled with cheese burger. "So you two," he gestured with his burger to Sean and Mark. "You guys need to get your shit together."

Sean raised an eyebrow and took a long sip of his root beer float. "Us guys? I'm perfectly fine." He shot a sidelong look at Mark. "He's the one who's hungover and sulking."

Mark looked up sharply. "I am not sulking."

"You kind of are Mark."

"Shut up Wade." Mark pushed his plate away angrily. "And it's not my fault I'm allergic to alcohol!"

"Mark, you are totally sulking. And you're not sick from being allergic to alcohol, you're hungover from drinking too much of it." Bob sighed and put his food down. "We get it Mark, you’re upset. Your TiMER went off and it wasn't what you expected. But now you need to put it aside and do your job."

Mark’s face went red. "Put it aside? First my TiMER just goes off out of nowhere and then I have to sit around and watch Jack flirt with every guy coming up to the booth. And now what? You want me to just put on a happy face?” 

Sean crumpled his napkin up and threw it on his late. “I’m gonna be outside.” He fished in his wallet and threw a few dollars on the table before hurrying out the door and onto the street. He knew Mark was upset, and it was understandable to a point, but to just sit there and listen to the person who was supposed to be his soulmate talking to him like that, it was just too much.

The street outside the diner was busy and there was a steady stream of people jostling him as they passed. It was a bit overwhelming, being around so many people. He was from a fairly small area and spent more time at home than in town. He let himself be pushed into a coffee shop. It was small and mercifully quiet. 

He was halfway through his coffee when the bells on the door of the coffee shop rang. Mark walked in, shoulders slumped and his hands jammed in his pockets. He glanced at Sean for a moment and then moved the counter to order a coffee. Once he had his order he walked over to the small table where Sean was seated and just stood there staring.

Sean sighed and kicked the chair opposite of him out from under the table. “Well, you might as well sit down.”

Mark nodded and sat down gingerly, like Sean was a small animal that might bolt if scared.

“Jack...I’m sorry. I’ve been an ass.”  
Sean sorted. “That might be a bit of an understatement.”

Mark drew in a deep breath, composing himself before continuing. “I’ve been an ass,” he repeated “but only because I don’t know how I’m suppose to react in this situation. I mean, I like you Jack, but I’ve never thought of you…”

“As your soulmate?” Sean took another gulp of coffee, suddenly aware of how bitter it was.

Mark nodded. “I never even considered my soulmate could be male. I mean, did you?”

Sean shrugged. “I never really thought much about that part. It’s not a big deal to me.”

“I guess I just thought things were going to be different.” Mark slumped in his chair, looking defeated. “But that doesn’t mean I should be taking it out on you. You’re my friend, and I shouldn’t let this” he waved his wrist at Sean “change that.”

Sean gritted his teeth and forced a smile. Friends, his soulmate wanted to be friends. And wasn’t that great? Wasn’t it just fantastic that his soulmate was willing to be his friend?


	5. Chapter 5

The panel was Sean’s personal Hell. Oh, he smiled and laughed and played his part, but the whole time it felt like his chest was being crushed in a vice. A part of him wondered if his friends could even tell.

“Jackaboy!” Mark was bouncing up and down at the edge of the stage, one arm slung around Bob’s shoulder. He reached out and grabbed Sean by the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a side hug. “Come be in the picture with us!”

Sean felt his whole body go tense but he forced a smile and leaned into Mark. Mark smelled like coffee and old spice and something a bit like coconut. He held onto Mark while the cameras flashed, and when they stopped he had to force himself to let go. 

“Hey Sean we’re gonna get some coffee and then head to the meet and greet and signing. You wanna come?” Wade asked. 

Sean bit at his bottom lip and glanced at Mark, who was maintaining a perfectly neutral sort of smile. He knew that this was his cute to smile and come along and be a good sport. This was the time to prove that he could be normal with Mark, be a buddy, and not make the whole TiMER business a big deal. 

So Sean swallowed down the bile rising in the back of his throat and nodded, plastering a smile on his face. “Yeah sure, I could always go for coffee.”

They didn’t go far this time, they just went to the Dunkin Donuts around the corner and ordered the biggest, sweetest, cheapest coffees they could. Sean got a triple XL mocha and tried not to choke when he noticed the cute girl at the register touching Mark’s hand for a moment too long when she gave him his change.

“Hey, want some of this?” 

Sean turned to see Wade smiling and holding up a small metal flask. “What’s that then?”

Wade’s grin widened. “Whiskey.”

Sean laughed and grabbed the flask, dumping a liberal amount of the liquid inside into his coffee. He grimaced when he took a sip, and then took a larger sip. “That’s...not good whiskey,” he wheezed.

Wade eyed him curiously. “You okay man?”

Sean nodded hastily and took another sip of his drink, it was already going down a lot easier. “I’m Irish!” he assured the other man, waving his hand dismissively. “I can handle a bit of whiskey in my coffee.”

“I guess it’s not called an Irish coffee for nothing.” Wade shrugged and poured a much smaller amount of whiskey into his own coffee before pocketing the flask again.

The Irish coffee, which seemed perfectly appropriate, went a long way towards distracting Sean from his troubles. It was halfway empty by the time they got to the meetup, and Sea was feeling a pleasant warm buzz inside. When he saw Wade glancing his way, looking concerned, he just smiled and shook his head. There was no need to worry, this was the best he had felt since he got off the plane. 

The meet and greet was packed. There were fans crowded around holding boxes and bags of gifts. Sean smiled when he saw a group of younger looking teens wearing baseball hats with handpainted versions of Sam, his little eyeball logo. H didn’t have a huge amount of fans compared to some of the bigger names in Youtube, but it was always nice when he saw fans doing something special like that.

“MARK!” 

Sean swung his head around to see a group of young women wearing t shirts emblazoned with pink moustaches jumping up and down and squealing loudly. They seemed to be on the verge of having some sort of fit, eyes wide and faces turning red.

Mark grinned sheepishly. “I guess I know where my fans are.”

Bob snorted. “We all know where they are Mark.”  
“Mark is the heartthrob of Youtube,” Wade pointed out.

Sean took another sip of his coffee, carefully keeping his expression neutral. “I think I’, gonna go say hi to some folks, kay?” He gestured with his coffee cup towards the boys in the Sam hats. “I’m kinda hoping they give me one of those hats.” 

The boys did indeed give him a hat. They had an extra one with them, this one green, and they both had sharpies on hand so he could sign their caps as well. They seemed extremely pleased that he had come over. 

“Some of the more popular guys kinda ignore the kids at these things. They just wanna flirt with girls and try and look cool,” The slightly older of the pair explained.

“Yeah,” agreed the second, gesturing with his hand. “Like him.”

Sean followed the movement and saw that Mark was still surrounded by his group of squealy fangirls, and they had been joined by even more people, so many it was almost impossible to make him out in the group.

“Aw, Mark’s not so bad.” He gave a weak grin.

The boys shrugged in unison. “The girls just go crazy at these things because they want their TiMER to go off while talking to someone famous.” 

“Oh, is that so.” Sean took a large sip of his coffee, somewhat surprised it seemed to have run out. “Well, that’s a bit silly. You can’t make it go off, the damned things just beep when they want.”

 

They boys eyed him suspiciously and nodded slowly, obviously a bit perplexed by his response. They asked for a picture with him and then left, off to hand out some more gifts and get some more pictures taken with their favorite gamers.

The meet and greet was only an hour long, but by the end Sean felt exhausted from putting on his fake smile and trying to keep his energy up. The booze in his coffee had helped at first, but as the event dragged on he felt sluggish and hazy. 

Bob and Wade walked up, each holding a large bag of gifts. 

"We were gonna swing back to the hotel and drop stuff off and change before the after party tonight." Wade shifted his bag so he could point with his free hand. "Mark got even more stuff than us, so he's gonna take a cab. You wanna ride with him or walk over with us?"

Sean looked over at Mark. He was surrounded by so many people it was hard to even see the top of his head through the crowd. There was a pile of bags at the edge of the group, all of them overflowing with letters and cards and gifts. There were at least a dozen Tiny Box Tim plush toys spilling onto the ground.

“Yeah,” Sean muttered. “Yeah, a walk would do me good.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Sean opened the door to the hotel Mark was nowhere to be seen, but the lights were on and the bed was covered in a layer of tiny box tim plush toys in various shapes and sizes. He dropped his stuff on the floor and collapsed into a chair. He let his head drop back and stared blankly up at the ceiling. After a moment he heard the bathroom door open and when he looked up mark was standing in the doorway with a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, hair still damp from the shower.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t hear you come in.” Mark pushed his damp hair out of his face and stared at the floor.

“Honestly Mark, I don’t imagine you’ve been noticing much I do at all.” Sean shook his head and laughed weakly. “Not that I can blame you, I mean, you have lots of other people paying you attention. Why bother with me right? We aren’t that good of friends, I’m not as popular as you. I mean, I must be a huge disappointment, right?”

“Jack, stop,” Mark snapped. “It’s not like that.” 

“Then what is it like Mark?” Sean jumped up out of the chair and walked up to Mark, crowding the other man back against the bathroom counter. “Tell me why don’t you? I mean, for fucks sake! My name isn’t even Jack! You know that!”

Mark flinched and shuffled back until his back hit the sink. Sean wasn’t bigger than him, and he wasn’t really scary, but he had never seen the other man so mad before. “Of course I know your name! I just don’t…”

“Don’t want to use it?” Sean put his hands on the counter, one on either side of Mark’s body, and leaned in.

“I don’t know what to do about any of it! I don’t know how to handle any of this! I was supposed to be here for one weekend! I was gonna see my friends and play games and talk at a panel and at some point I was gonna meet my soulmate! I knew my stupid counter was almost run out, okay? I knew, I’m not stupid. But I thought it would be someone at a panel, or a cute girl at a coffee shop near the convention center. Not you, not this.” Mark shoved Sean, placing both hands on the other man’s skinny chest and shoving with all his strength. He smiled when Sean stumbled, tripping backwards over his own feet.

“Of course. Of course you didn’t expect me, and of course you don’t want me. I get it okay? I really, really do Mark.” Sean slumped on the floor, all the fight suddenly gone out of him. “But it’s hard not to be angry when I see you flirting with other people not ten damn feet away from me.” He looked up and scowled. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. Don’t think EVERYONE didn’t notice. So, good job, you put me in my place. You wanted to make it clear you didn’t want to be with me, you did that.”

Mark cursed under his breath and took a step forward, hand out. “Jack...Sean. I just, I’m sorry okay?” He looked away. “Now come on, get up.”

Sean hesitated for a moment and then grabbed Mark’s hand, letting himself be pulled upright. He looked down and blushed, realizing suddenly Mark was still wearing nothing but a towel.

“Uh...Sean?” Mark waved a hand in Sean’s face. “You’re sort of staring. A bit. At, ya know, me.”

Sean took a step back quickly and put his hands over his face. “Shite! Sorry, I just, we were fighting and I wasn’t thinking and you have been naked this whole time and oh my god.” He stumbled out of the bathroom and threw himself on the bed, scattering the toys that were piled on it.

Mark leaned around the door cautiously. “Uh, Sean, are you okay?” He walked up behind the other man, approaching slowly so as not to startle him. “You seem, not okay.”

“I’m not okay. I am an idiot and you are naked and oh my god why is this my life? How is this my life?” Sean yelled into the comforter and waggled his arms and legs, flailing pathetically to emphasise his point. “Oh. My. God.”

Mark sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to place a hand on Sean’s back. “You know, there’s no need to freak out right now.”

Sean rolled over and scowled. “Yes, yes there is a reason to freak out. Our TiMERs are clearly playing tricks on us, the two of us are fighting like idiots, I spent all day in a damned mood because I was jealous, and now all I can think about about is the fact that You Are Naked.” He scrubbed a hand a hand across his face. “Like, do you even understand how distracting that is for me?”

Mark shrugged. “No? Not really? I never really…” He waved his hands in the air, trying to find the words. “I never really thought about guys like that. I’ve seen guys naked, sure, but I never really think about it much.”

Sean laughed. “Well I am thinking about it now.”

“Should I go put clothes on so we can keep talking?” Asked Mark.

Sean grimaced. “Yes. No. Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t want to to talk, I don’t want you to get dressed. I don’t want to keep fighting. But I have feeling you and I want rather different thing right about now.”

Mark hesitated, and then reached out and put his hand on Sean’s shoulder. “Okay, you’re right. I don’t think I want the exact same things you do. But I don’t want to fight anymore either, and I don’t really think our TiMERs were pulling an elaborate prank. And maybe I haven’t ever thought about this kind of thing before,” he said, gesturing between them. “But contrary to popular belief I am not actually a total idiot and I have a feeling that me getting dressed is not the best next step.”

Sean pulled back a bit, eyes going wide. “Uh, Mark? Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Maybe?” Mark smiled hesitantly. “I mean, if you want to maybe try and…”

“Oh I want to, yes, for sure, totally, but I should warn you I have a terrible gag reflex.” Sean sat up and started crawling across the blanket to plop himself inot Mark’s lap. “Like, so so bad. So just keep that in mind.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “Why would I need to know that? I mean, is kissing a problem?”

Sean shook his head and grinned widely. “No, kissing is not a problem.”

“So then why….oh.”

“Mhmm.” Sean leaned in and wrapped his arms around Mark’s shoulders. “But I promise I can make up for it in other ways?”

Mark muffled his laugh by pressing his face into the juncture of Sean’s neck and shoulder. “Go figure, my soulmate has the biggest mouth on the internet and it’s not even useful.”

Sean laughed and pulled Mark’s head up, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Sorry, but I promise to make up for it in lots of other ways.”

Mark rolled his eyes and pushed Sean back flat onto the bed. “I feel like that is something is I should investigate.”

“You really should.”

Mark pulled the towel off and tossed it aside, already moving down and working his hands under Sean’s sweatshirt, mouth busy with seeing what Sean’s big mouth was good for. 

Outside in the hall, Bob and Wade stood in front of the door, eyes wide and face a bit red.

“Should we knock?” Asked Wade, voice sounding a bit strained.

Before Bob could answer, the sound of Sean’s voice, loud and needy carried through the door. 

“Oh, fuck! Mark!!”

Bob turned and grabbed Wade by the arm, pulling him down the hall. “Nope. I do not think we should knock Wade. I think we should maybe give them a bit of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end! Thank you to all of you who have read and commented! And a big "I'm sorry!!!" to everyone who has been waiting for me to wrap things up. I haven't been watching as much of Mark's channel since the incident with his roommate, and I kinda moved away form this story because of that. I am back to watching both him and Jack regularly now though, and i figured I should wrap this story up. The ending is a bit rushed, and I am sorry for that, but it seemed pressing to just get it out. I truly hope you like it and that it was worth the wait. Thanks everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you like check out my youtube channel where I game and talk about nerd stuff! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyqzxQqr3XYUIR1EI2_Omow


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